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Glite Dictionary
to watch it

to watch it

85 5.6
Be careful to avoid danger or upsetting someone
  • phrasal verb
  • /wɑtʃ ɪt/
  • Informal
translation icon : tener cuidado
  • Watch it when you are crossing the street; there are a lot of cars.
  • you'd better watch it
  • Hey, watch it
  • watch it, said

Examples

Synonyms

to be careful
vsto watch it
979 1.0

Take care to avoid danger or getting hurt

may also warn to avoid offending others, not only physical harm
to watch out
vsto watch it
  • Informal
582 3.0

To be careful to avoid danger or trouble

also warns about offending someone as well as danger
to take care
vsto watch it
168 1.8

To be careful to avoid danger

can also serve as a sharp personal warning about offending someone
to look out
vsto watch it
153 1.6

Watch for danger or trouble

adds warning to avoid causing offence rather than only spotting danger
to beware
vsto watch it
136 4.1

Be careful and watch for danger

is also used to prevent causing offence, not only to avoid risks
to stay alert
vsto watch it
28 3.4

To watch carefully so you notice danger or changes

is usually a quick warning about specific danger or possible offense
to take heed
vsto watch it
  • Formal
11 6.2

Pay careful attention to advice or warnings

is a short direct caution for immediate safety or to avoid offence
to tread carefully
vsto watch it
6 3.9

Act carefully to avoid mistakes, danger, or upsetting others

is a brief spoken warning rather than advice about behavior over time
watch your ass
vsto watch it
  • Offensive
6 9.9

Be very careful because you could get into trouble

is milder and more neutral, often avoiding coarse language

How Careful

to watch out
  • Informal
582 3.0
to watch it
  • Informal
85 5.6
to be careful
979 1.0
to take care
168 1.8

Surface Forms

watch it infinitive
watching it present participle
watches it third person singular
watched it past
watched it past participle

Morphology

watch + it

The imperative 'watch it' directly uses 'watch' (be alert/cautious) with a deictic pronoun 'it' as a general warning, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the meaning 'be careful' or 'watch out'. It is a colloquial but compositional warning phrase analogous to 'watch out' and is cross-linguistically common, making it transparently derivable from its parts.

Etymology

The warning watch it may come from a short form of watch + it, meaning 'look at that' when something dangerous is near. Imagine someone pointing to hot coffee and saying watch it so the other person looks and avoids a burn. That's why the phrase means 'be careful'.